You've reached your article limit

Subscribe now to continue reading the Arkansas Times

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Baptism by firetruck

We remain fascinated at the political dimensions of the surprise defeat of Ronnie Floyd's candidacy for president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He doesn't lose many battles on his home turf.

Some perusing of Baptist blogs turns up some interesting tidbits. For one thing, one blogger reports in passing that he'd heard Floyd had plans for a political career - a la Mike Huckabee and Jim Lagrone, to name two former state Baptist Convention presidents who have sought or are seeking political office -- or at least he did before his defeat.

Another blog took us to a Baptist press article that lays out in detail the unhappiness about the tiny amount of money Floyd's churches give to the denomination's cooperative mission program. And here's another big issue among some critics of Floyd that we found interesting:

Cole and others said many conservatives are also upset about Springdale's evangelism techniques, such as the fire-truck baptistry that is part of its children's ministry.

The unique baptistry, created by Disney designer Bruce Barry, is part of a $270,000 high-tech project for the church's children's worship area that includes video games, a light show, music videos and a bubble machine, according to Christianity Today. When a child is baptized in the fire-truck-shaped baptistry, sirens blare and confetti is fired out of cannons.

"Putting a talking head in front of kids for an hour doesn't work," the children's minister told the magazine. "This is a visual generation. We need to use technology to the max."

"This is blasphemous!" said SBC conservative leader Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, when told of the practice.

In a May 9 interview with the Arkansas Baptist News, Floyd defended creative evangelism and urged Southern Baptists to become innovative in their strategies.

"Our great gospel needs to be packaged in ways the culture can understand and receive," he said, noting that baptisms in Southern Baptist churches continue to decline -- down 4 percent in 2005.

You can read Floyd's thoughts on his loss and, more recently, current events at this link.

Wesley Clark, the retired NATO commander from Little Rock, writes critically today in the Washington Post about Donald Trump as commander in chief.

Readers also liked…

What's purported to be a final-words essay from condemned prisoner Kenneth Williams was distributed today by Deborah Robinson, a freelance journalist in Arkansas. He reflects on his execution, his victims, reactions of inmates and big servings of fried chicken, which he says are given to all inmates on execution days.

Matt Campbell, lawyer and Blue Hog Report blogger, has sent a Freedom of Information Act request to Jay Chessir, director of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Mark Stodola related to the publicity stunt yesterday built around withdrawing from the mayor's rash pronouncement that the city would seek an Amazon HQ2 project even though the city didn't meet the company's criteria.

June 2018 is the expected publication date for a novel collaboration by former President Bill Clinton and crime writer James Patterson.

Slideshows

Arkansas vs Ole Miss at War Memorial stadium in Little Rock, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. After leading for much of the game, Arkansas lost 37-33 when Ole Miss scored the game winning Touchdown with less that 2 minutes left.